The Princess of Light
by dancingknight15
Summary: Himeno wants nothing more than to bring a smile to Sasame's face: 'They look so lonely-Sasame's eyes,' she thought. If she could alleviate the loneliness inside of him—that alone would be enough for her...
1. Chapter 1

The way he danced was captivating. His snow-white hair, radiating with the morning's sunlight, shimmered and swayed. His body was fluid itself—so pale and delicate. As his arms stretched upward, slender branches reaching to the heavens, he swayed backwards. The music of his delicate movements was nothing but the morning breeze. As if from an invisible cue, he leapt into the air. A pair of wings would have turned the suspended Adonis into an angel. He landed softly upon his toes, poised as if for another flight.

Her bright, cherry-pink eyes continued to follow his graceful act, her nose pressed to the glass window. She dared not enter. Her clumsiness had no place with his elegance. She watched as he tilted his head in her direction—and met her eyes. His brilliant lavender eyes were drawing her in, but as usual, they were cold—blank and lifeless.

'They look so lonely—Sasame's eyes,' she thought. If she could alleviate the loneliness inside of him—that alone would be enough for her. If only there was a way she could bring a smile to his face. If only…

"Quit staring at him from here, tulip head," a voice behind her snapped.

She felt the warmth inside of her chest that had blossomed from watching Sasame's dance turn into irritation.

"Well sorry!" she retorted, tearing herself away from the window. She walked past the one who was almost always nearby Sasame—Hayate, the second best male ballet dancer at the school—without giving him a second glance. The way he was always hovering around Sasame never failed to irritate her. To make matters worse, he was the complete opposite of Sasame. Where Sasame seemed to embody kindness itself, Hayate and kindness seemed to have nothing to do with each other.

Fighting away the irritation that was threatening to ruin her morning, she spotted her friend Yayoi in the distance. Giving her an enthusiastic wave, she felt her foot slip. The next she knew, she was on the ground, face-first in the mud.

"Himeno! Are you okay?" Yayoi asked, running towards her, "Your clumsiness is so cute, Himeno! You're like a damsel in distress—except there's no prince to catch you as you fall! Ah, no matter, you can always come back crying to me!"

"Huh," Himeno responded, getting to her feet. No prince, huh? Her thoughts wandered to Sasame, his perfect form, and his graceful movements. She imagined him with a golden crown on his head and giggled in glee. Sasame, a prince! It fit him so perfectly!

"Stop daydreaming! We're going to be late for class!" her friend called out to her.

Himeno nodded, picking up her pace, unable to get the image of Sasame wearing a crown out of her mind.

"This morning you will have the honor of seeing the special class perform a short piece. Pay close attention to their technique and their expression on point," their instructor, Kaoru Awayuki announced, "Well, without further ado—the special class!"

They seemed to float as they pirouetted into the room. The first two to enter—the sisters Mayune and Mawata—completed each other perfectly. Mayune was tall and slender, with flowing rose-pink hair. She utilized her long legs to their full potential as she pirouetted, spinning powerfully and precisely in long, calculated spins. Her sister Mawata, by contrast, used her petite body to twirl in a quick and delicate manner. With short, pastel-green curls, she resembled what would be the perfect female counterpart to Sasame's angelic form. Himeno sighed as she pictured the two of them in a pas de deux together. 'They would look perfect together, after all,' Himeno thought sadly.

She was prevented from falling deeper into despair by the entrance of the final special class member—the top female ballet dancer of the academy. Containing both Mayune's power and Mawata's petite delicacy, Takako embodied the ideal ballet technique and aura that many of the girls at the academy worked so hard to attain. She was neither too tall, nor too short, with waist-length midnight black hair that accentuated her emerald green eyes. Today, she had her hair tied up in a bun, which only further emphasized the natural grace of her body—her long neck flowing into her slender body, which concluded with her lithe legs. She pirouetted only twice, proceeding into the choreography of the Dance of the Reeds from the Nutcracker, which the standard class was currently rehearsing.

Himeno watched her with sinking spirits. No amount of practice would lead her to dance like that, she knew. Perfection—in both form and beauty—was Takako. A perfection that was beyond Himeno's comprehension.

At the conclusion of their performance, she heard lone clapping—and was surprised that it was Hayate. Hayate—who rarely ever appreciated others' dancing—was clapping? Himeno turned to face Takako and saw that the complement was not lost on her. She gave him a soft smile and bowed along with Mayune and Mawata, resulting in applause from the rest of the class.

"Ah, I wish I could dance like that," Himeno sighed, thinking to the elegance that the three special class members embodied. As she went through her morning stretches, she sighed at the ungainly sight of her body. Her legs were too short and too stout for the upper half of her body, and her short cut hair lacked the graceful curls in Mawata's hair. She was plain—and worse, she was clumsy. She scowled as she practiced, receiving a stern look from her ballet instructor.

"Don't worry—you'll always be my clumsy little Himeno," her friend Yayoi remarked upon hearing Himeno's wish voiced aloud. Himeno sighed and then turned sharply to face the window as she saw a flash of white pass by. Curious, she abandoned her practice and raced outside. She was certain that what she had seen was Sasame.

"Say you love me, Sasame," a voice commanded.

"I love you, Takako," Sasame responded in a monotone voice.

"Good," Takako said contently.

Himeno turned the corner and saw Sasame lying down underneath a tree, his head resting on Takako's legs. She was stroking his hair gently, gazing at Sasame with adoration and possession. Sasame, on the other hand, stared blankly at the shards of the sky that filtered through the tree branches. Takako seemed not to care that he was paying no attention to her. Feeling as if she had intruded into a private moment, Himeno began to step backwards, when a branch crunched underneath her shoe.

"Who's there?" Takako demanded. Himeno nervously made her way forward.

"Um, I'm sorry…I just…um…" Himeno stammered.

"Oh, it's just you. You're from the standard class, aren't you?" Takako asked, her tone condescending yet welcoming.

"Y-yes, m-my name is Himeno. I-i-it's v-very nice to m-meet you," Himeno managed while blushing furiously.

"Ah yes. Well, if you'll excuse us," Takako said, indicating to Sasame to stand up. Weaving her arm with his, they left—a picturesque pair of dancing perfection. Himeno stood rooted to the spot, Sasame's words echoing in her mind: 'I love you, Takako…'

"What are you doing, standing around like an idiot?" a voice behind her snapped.

"Ah, I…" Himeno began before she realized who had spoken to her. Hayate.

"Nothing, I was just leaving," she snapped, turning to head back to her class where her instructor had most probably noticed her absence.

"Have you seen Sasame?" Hayate asked, his tone slightly less harsh than usual.

"No," Himeno responded, beginning to run in the opposite direction of the classroom. Or she wished that she hadn't seen him.

Giant tears were flowing from Himeno's eyes as she recollected Sasame and Takako's intimacy. Did Sasame truly love Takako? His eyes had seemed blank as usual. Perhaps even lonelier than usual.

"They make a perfect pair, for sure…the best female and the best male ballet dancers at the school…" she sniffled. But was Sasame truly happy with Takako?

'It's okay' Himeno thought, wiping her tears away, 'I just want Sasame to be happy. If being with Takako makes him happy…'

"Do you think he's truly happy this way?" a voice thundered from the forest.

"W-who?" Himeno said, startled.

"I asked, do you truly believe the prince is happy now?" the voice asked again.

"Prince?" she asked, confused.

"Of course! The white haired, lonely prince who has lost his heart," the voice answered. Now Himeno was beginning to feel afraid. She had no idea who this voice was, nor who the prince was supposed to be. An image of Sasame wearing a crown flashed into her mind.

"Sasame? Is he a prince?" she asked.

"Why, of course! Once upon a time, a brave prince battled an evil raven. A kind and selfless prince, he took out his own heart in order to defeat the raven. Now the prince wanders aimlessly, unable to remember who he is or even what happiness is," the voice explained.

"So Sasame doesn't have a heart? That explains why he looks so lonely all the time…" she mused, "Is there a way to bring his heart back?"

"It won't be easy, my dear. Only one—the Pretear—can restore his heart. Now tell me, Himeno, do you truly want to make Sasame happy?" the voice asked again.

"If I could make Sasame happy…I could die happily," Himeno said, sighing at the thought of a smiling Sasame.

"Very good. Then here is my gift to you—the princess of light," the voice said. From out of the darkness, an oval pendant made of red ruby appeared, landing in Himeno's hands. She clasped the pendant tightly and felt its warmth pulsating throughout her body.

"So I can make Sasame happy using this?" she asked, but no one answered. She placed the pendant around her neck, feeling its warmth against her chest. And she smiled, knowing that she could now bring a smile to Sasame's face.


	2. Chapter 2

Placing the pendant underneath her school uniform, Himeno descended further into the forest. She needed to think about everything that had happened—Sasame and Takako, and the mysterious voice that had given her the pendant. The voice had said that Sasame was a prince who had lost his heart. And only she could recover the pieces of his heart and return them to him. What had the voice called her—princess of light? The Pretear?

What did that mean? What would this pendant allow her to do? She ran a finger along the chain upon which the pendant hung, feeling a sense of excitement. Her eyes sparkled as she thought of Sasame smiling, his dancing full of life and love.

'I love you, Takako,' his voice echoed once more in Himeno's mind. She was sure now that without a heart, Sasame did not even know what love was. She wanted Sasame to feel love, joy and happiness—the warm emotions she had always felt from watching him dance.

As she wandered through the forest with these precious thoughts in her mind, she stumbled over a tree root, and fell into the mud. Undaunted, she rose to her feet to look for a stream to wash off the mud that coated her face and uniform. Despite the dirt that covered her, she felt clean—as if born anew. The breeze felt more pleasant on her face, ruffling her short pink hair as if passed her by. She inhaled deeply, smelling the fresh earth, the moss on the trees and the wildflowers beside the path she had been traveling.

Path? She paused. Until now, she had been wandered through unmarked forest, covered in roots and foliage. Suddenly, she found herself on a neatly cleared path—leading to where? Curious, she continued along the path. At the end of the path was a lovely little cottage. Flowers lined the front of the cottage. They smelled so sweet—almost like candy.

Drawn to the fragrance of the flowers, she approached the house.

'It wouldn't hurt to look around, right?' she thought, stepping lightly towards the flowers.

"Welcome! Welcome!" a voice boomed as the door of the cottage sprung open. Himeno fell backwards in surprise, covering her hair and the back of her once clean uniform with mud.

"Oh dear! What have we here?" the owner of the voice—middle aged woman with a sharp bun—exclaimed.

"I'm sorry for intruding," Himeno said and then realized what she looked like at the moment.

"Oh, but we must get you washed up. Do come inside!" she said enthusiastically. Himeno thanked her and went inside. The interior of the cottage was quant. A single room with a large fireplace lay adjacent to what Himeno assumed must be the kitchen. Everywhere she looked, she saw photographs of a happy smiling couple. 'The woman and her husband,' she thought and sighed, 'It must be nice to be with the one you love…'

"The bath is over here, darling. I'll prepare something nice for you to eat in the meantime," she said. As Himeno scrubbed the muck off of her skin, soaking into the bubble bath, the woman began cooking. Running through her recipe box, she made one dish after another, smiling widely as she did so. But her eyes were not smiling.

Himeno sat down at the table once her bath was over, and gazed at the variety of dishes before her in awe. There were enough dishes to feed an entire family for several meals on the table. Soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, crepes, and more lined up in delicate porcelain tableware. The centerpiece was a simple bouquet of wildflowers—the very ones that Himeno had seen earlier lining the path—whose aroma was so sweet, Himeno was certain she could taste the sugar through the fragrance alone.

Grateful for the food—she was starving after wandering in the forest—she piled food onto her plate. But when she took her first bite, she was surprised to find that the food was cold. Ice cold. The woman watched her carefully.

"How is it? It's yummy, isn't it? Do have more," she emphasized, placing more food onto another plate. Himeno watched her in horror. Although all the dishes looked appetizing, Himeno could taste nothing but the chill embedded inside them. She could feel her mouth turning numb from eating the frozen food.

"Thank you, but I'm done," she said, placing her fork down. She could not eat another bite of the lifeless food even though her stomach was still far from full. In fact, she probably could have finished all of the food on the table if it had not been so frigid.

"Ah, but you can't possibly be full yet! Here have some more," the woman insisted, going as far as force-feeding Himeno.

'No! Stop!' Himeno thought as more and more food was forced into her system, 'Something is definitely wrong here! Definitely wrong!'

Her pendant suddenly glowed a brilliant crimson. 'My pendant—it's reacting to something. But what?' As she stared around in confusion, she noticed that the woman had stopped feeding her. Stopped doing anything, really. She was frozen—along with the remainder of Himeno's surroundings.

"What's going on?" she cried out.

"A shard of the prince's heart is here in this woman's home. However, you cannot obtain it alone. No, that you cannot…" the voice from before thundered. Himeno's eyes widened. A piece of Sasame's heart was in the cottage? But where? And what did the voice mean when it said she could not obtain it alone?

Time unfroze and Himeno's surroundings returned motion. The woman, tired of Himeno's resistance, looked up and glared at her guest.

"Are you saying that my food is not delicious? My food is always delicious…it always has been. They are his recipes, after all…" she cried out. The flowers on her table grew at an accelerated rate, extending vines in every direction. The vines joined together around Himeno.

'I can't move,' she thought, struggling in vain to escape from the plants. She could see the woman's tears flowing endlessly.

"They were his recipes…" she said over and over again.

'His recipes? She must mean the man in the pictures…but where is he?' Himeno thought, watching the woman sadly. The vines continued to wrap around her, until she could not even move. A vine began to creep around her neck.

A brilliant light emitted from the pendant, surrounding her in its dazzling light. She felt her school uniform melt away to be placed by a white dress made of soft swan feathers. Her plain shoes transformed into point shoes, and as the light faded, she stood proudly on her toes, a prima donna—free of the vines that had bound her.

The room had transformed into an underwater stage. The vines had transformed into delicate seaweed and the flowers into pink coral. Although they were surrounded by water, they were not cold—the leafe emanating from the ballerina was enough to warm the entire surroundings. She stood poised in a ray of light, facing the woman whose sadness was beginning to remove the leafe from the water.

"Do not cry," she said, "Your food was made with love, but why is it so cold? Why are you so sad? Food is made to be enjoyed, to make others happy," the ballerina said, reaching her hands out to the woman.

"After my husband died…I just couldn't cook anymore. There was no one to cook for. And without him there—with only the recipes, the cold sheets of paper—there was no way to make his dishes come to life, " she said, turning away from the beautiful dancing princess who was lightly making her way towards her.

"You love to cook, just as you loved your husband," the princess said, "Your heart does not wish to make such cold food. Find the warmth of your husband's memories."

The princess was dancing around the woman, trying to extend her leafe to aid the woman. To bring her out of sorrow and remember her precious past.

"Please, come dance with me," she said, holding out her hand to the woman. The woman hesitated, but then took the princess' hand. Together, they danced a duet for freedom from loneliness. Reaching towards a picture of her husband, the woman smiled through her tears.

"I had forgotten, my love, how much fun we had had cooking together," she murmured to him. Images flashed through her mind of her husband and her cooking together, experimenting and trying new combinations, and laughing at mixtures that tasted strange. Sighing in relief at recovering her memories, the darkness inside of the woman flowed out from her and took form.

The creature born from darkness took the form of a giant worm with a single yellow eye, a dark slit serving as its pupil. Himeno shuddered as she heard its cry. How to defeat such a monster?

She twirled to the right to avoid the stream of acid that it emitted from its mouth, grabbing the woman and moving her out of harm's way. As she turned to face the monster, she saw another stream of acid come her way. It was too late for her to avoid the searing stream of poison. And if she moved, the woman would certainly be covered in the expulsion. Himeno stood her ground, staring defiantly into the creature's eyes.

"Move, you idiot!" a voice roared as a stream of jet-powered wind hit the creature. Howling, the creature's spit missed Himeno by mere inches.

"What are you doing, standing around like that?" the voice spat. Himeno turned and was surprised to be staring into Hayate's angry eyes. His usual school uniform was replaced with a blue top that had the emblem of a wing across his chest. His blue top flowed down to his knees, with sleeves that ended in half-gloves for his hands. He looked absolutely stunning in his new outfit, with white boots that sharply contrasted with the dark blue pants he wore.

"Quickly," he cried out, extending his hand to Himeno as the creature rose to attack once more, "Grab my hand!"

She extended her hand and placed her palm in his. In another burst of light, she felt the swan feather dress melt away. She closed her eyes and felt warmth that she never felt before enter her chest. White gloves and a white top with flowing blue lace appeared on the upper half of her body, followed by a short navy blue skirt and dark blue high-heel boots with wings on her lower half. She opened her eyes and as the light faded, found herself face to face with the monster.

"Don't just stand there, idiot! Use the wind sword to attack the demon larva!" Hayate shouted. Himeno stood frozen to the spot. Hayate's voice had sounded so loud in her mind. Himeno turned around, looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm inside of you," he replied.

'Inside?' Himeno thought wildly, blushing furiously.

"It's only our leafe spirits that merge, it's not in body," Hayate hissed, "You don't have the luxury of standing around!"

His harsh voice grated on her ears and she cringed. Meanwhile, the creature was coming closer and closer, its mouth opening to reveal two rows of sharp razor teeth.

"How do I summon the wind sword?" she asked aloud.

"Feel the leafe inside of you. Feel it flow and summon the wind sword!" he shouted.

"Okay!" she snapped. Closing her eyes, she reached inside of her to feel the source of leafe inside of her. The leafe pool that she had released slowly to warm the heart of the lonely widow.

"Hurry up!" Hayate snapped, before crying out in pain. The creature had reached Himeno and had attacked—but Himeno felt none of the pain. Hayate acted as her shield, taking the blow and repelling the creature back with the power of his leafe.

"Hayate!" Himeno cried out in concern.

"It's coming again!" he yelled. She focused at her core—and as the image of Sasame filled her mind, she felt a sudden burst of leafe.

"Wind sword!" she cried, summoning the sword from the leafe she had drawn from within. Armed with the sword, she slashed forward. Her powerful sword cleaved the monster in two in a combination of steel and wind. As the darkness faded, she felt Hayate's silent approval, and felt his presence leave her.

She returned her to the cottage of the middle-aged woman. On the table—where the demon larva had once been—was a single red jewel.

"A piece of the prince's heart," Hayate muttered. Himeno reached forward for the shard, placing it inside of her school uniform. She would be returning it to Sasame the next time she saw him, for sure. She turned to thank Hayate and realized that he was bleeding.

"Hayate?" she asked. He had a horrible gash across his chest and stomach. He turned away from her.

"It's your fault for being such a horrible Pretear," he snapped and then walked out the door, leaving Himeno to take care of the woman, who remembered none of the creature's attack. Himeno left the smiling woman, thanking her for her food. While the woman had forgotten Himeno's form as the prima donna—Princess Tutu—she did not forgot the warmth of the memories of her husband. Her food would never contain the lifeless chill it had possessed before.

Glad to bring happiness to the woman, Himeno left the cottage, hoping to find Hayate. She felt guilty about his wound. Because she had been unable to summon the wind sword in time, he had gotten hurt. Worse, there was not enough a scratch upon her. As rude as he was to her, he did not deserve to get injured in that way. She decided to go visit him later to make sure that he was healing all right. Himeno clutched the precious shard of Sasame's heart and headed back to the school grounds, her heart in turmoil from the day's events.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hayate! Hayate!" Himeno called out from outside the boy's dormitory. Despite her initial misgivings about going to the boy's dormitory, she convinced herself that it was necessary in order to check up on Hayate—and deliver the heart shard to Sasame. After she had finally plucked up the courage to go to the boy's dorm, she was disappointed to get no reply.

"Hayate!" she called again. She was not going to give up that easily, that she was not. She knocked on the wooden door again and glanced around quickly, to make sure there were no teachers around. Trying to enter into the boy's dorm would land her into detention—or worse. She could hear Awayuki's warning in her mind: 'If you don't leave the boy's dorm this instant, then I will have you m-m-marry me!'

Himeno shuddered in horror at that fate and raised her hand to knock once more. She was interrupted in mid-motion as the door swung open, knocking straight into her forehead with enough force to push her to the ground.

"What do you want?" an irritated voice asked her. She looked up through tear-blurred eyes, her forehead smarting from the impact with the heavy wooden door.

"Ow," she managed in a weak voice as Hayate looked down at her in irritation.

"If you've got no business here, then leave," he said harshly. Himeno flinched from his hostile tone. 'Why does he have to be so mean all the time?' she thought.

"I came to see if you were okay," she said a little angrily, getting to her feet. Hayate's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed.

"That's none of your concern," Hayate said sharply. Himeno crossed her arms. Hayate may be intimidating, but that did not mean she was going to back down.

"You got hurt because of me, so it _is_ my business," she responded firmly. They glared at each other for a moment before Hayate moved to shut the door. Himeno stuck her arm and half of her body into the doorway to prevent Hayate from shutting the door in her face. She almost bit her tongue to prevent from crying out in pain.

From her proximity to Hayate, she could see bandages around his chest and stomach underneath his thin tunic, and felt another twinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry," Himeno said, looking downcast. Hayate saw the pendant around her neck and frowned.

"Get rid of that pendant," he warned. Himeno grabbed the pendant defensively.

"No. I want to return Sasame's heart shards to him," she protested. Hayate opened the door enough to let her inside—only to pin her against the wall. His eyes were glinting dangerously.

"Stay away from Sasame," he hissed, sending shivers down Himeno's spine. She opened her mouth to argue back, but found that no sound would come out. As Hayate turned away, Himeno's knees gave way, and she sank to the ground, shaking in fear.

…

'He doesn't have to be so mean about it,' Himeno thought as she walked stiffly away from the boy's dormitory. After spending what seemed like hours shaking on the ground Himeno had pulled herself together, determined to make Sasame smile. She took out the heart shard from her pocket.

"I need to find a way to get this heart shard to Sasame without Hayate finding out," she thought aloud," But they're roommates—and it's so hard to find Sasame alone. He's either with Hayate…or Takako…"

Her voice trailed away as she thought about Sasame resting his head on Takako's lap. They had seemed so perfect together—his stark white hair and soft eyes complimenting her midnight black hair and sharp emerald-green eyes.

"They really do look good together," she said, trying to keep herself from feeling down.

"No! No! No!" she said, hitting herself on the head, "That's not important! I just want to make Sasame happy—and for that I need to get this heart shard to him."

With that thought in mind, she rushed forward blindly swinging her arms and legs in sync. Moments later, she ran head first into a white-clad being. Looking up, to see whom she had bumped into, she was shocked to find herself face-to-face with Sasame. She started unabashedly into his violet eyes, before collecting herself.

"Ah, um, ee, wa…heehee," she uttered incoherently, a blush spreading across her face.

"Himeno?" Sasame asked in his soft voice. Himeno felt the blush deepen as her heart skipped with joy.

'He knows my name!' she thought gleefully, her smile stretching from ear to ear.

"Are you okay?" he asked, learning forward to examine her forehead, which was still red from the impact with the boy's dormitory door.

"Huh, yes, well, fine, of course, yeah…" she spluttered as his sudden proximity caused her heart to hammer in her chest. She tried to move backwards in an effort to bring her pulse back to normal, but her legs were refusing to cooperate. Slipping on a patch of wet grass, she began to fall.

'I'm falling…falling…' she thought sadly, as she braced herself for impact. With the grace that made him the uncontested best male dancer in the school, Sasame moved forward to catch her falling form in his arms. Himeno's face flushed so red it looked hot to touch. She opened her mouth to say thanks but all that came out was a nervous giggle. She shifted to sit up when her pendant made contact with Sasame and began to glow.

'The heart shard!' Himeno remembered, reaching for her pocket, when a shadow over her made her freeze.

"What are you doing, Sasame?" Hayate demanded, ignoring Himeno completely.

"Nothing," Sasame replied.

"Then get up and get back to the room," Hayate snapped. His tone alone made Himeno flinch, so she did not dare to look at him.

'I'm not going to lose to Hayate!' she thought fiercely, slipping the heart shard into Sasame's shirt pocket quickly before getting to her feet.

"Thank you. I'll be going now," she said to Sasame. Ignoring her, Hayate commanded, "Get up."

Sasame looked at him and murmured something in a quiet voice.

"What! You twisted your ankle? That's why you shouldn't waste your effort on pointless things," Hayate said sharply, his face twisted with anger.

'How mean!' Himeno thought. Placing her fear of Hayate aside for the moment, she spun around and placed her hands on her hips.

"He got hurt because he was stopping me from falling," Himeno said, "So it's my fault. Don't yell at him…"

"That's why I said it was pointless," Hayate said, glaring at her. She looked away from his severe gaze still angry at the way he was treating Sasame.

"Get up," Hayate commanded, pulling Sasame to his feet. Before Himeno could say anything in protest, Hayate had already dragged Sasame away.

"Sasame should stay away from him," she muttered, and then placed a hand on her pendant.

"At least I gave the shard to Sasame. I wonder if that was enough…" she wondered aloud, a finger on her chin as her mouth puckered in concentration. She broke out of her reverie when she heard the sound of a music box coming towards her.

Himeno turned and faced a uniquely beautiful woman with green hair that looked spun out of cotton. It seemed to have a mind of its own, dancing in mid air with curls that defied gravity. On her pale, white face, which was punctuated with bright pink lipstick and pastel pink blush, was what could be construed as a soft smile. Her brilliant blue eyes were accentuated with pastel blue eye shadow, giving her entire visage both a mature and staged appearance.

Her outfit was a similar compilation of bright colors, from red and yellow stripes for pants and blouse, to pink and purple stripes on her skirt. Her yellow sleeves ended in lavender cuffs that framed her slender hands. She looked as if every piece of her had been carefully constructed, and her delicate movements highlighted this aspect of her.

"Would you like a jewel, Miss Himeno?" she asked. Her music box opened up to reveal two rows of various jewels.

"Oh how pretty!" Himeno exclaimed, peering at the various jewels.

"Has this one caught your fancy? It is two jewels in one," she said, pointing to a jewel that had a red and white gem carved into the shape of hearts strung together.

"Two jewels into one, huh? They kinda look like two separate jewels, though. Wait…why do you know my name and who are you?" Himeno said in a rapid-fire manner.

"This jewel is known as Courage. Two become one, as one is all, and all is one. I am Edel, and I know a great many things about you," she said, extending a finger and pointing at Himeno's pendant.

"Huh…so courage is two jewels…um, does that mean it's two combined or something?" she asked and then paused to scratch her head. Edel watched Himeno closely as she pondered visibly.

"I kinda don't get it…oh well, it's very nice to meet you, Edel," Himeno said, smiling.

The clock chimed for the hour, and Himeno froze in horror. She was going to be late for afternoon classes! She bowed in thanks and waved goodbye to the mysterious Edel as she ran off to class.

…

"Wonderful job today, Takako," a chorus of girls called out to the advanced class members as they walked past.

Takako nodded serenely, a smile plastered onto her face. Her eyes narrowed and her smile disappeared as soon as she was out of sight. She did not have time for empty admirers, after all. She only wanted Sasame.

Mawata trailed behind her and watched Takako closely as the smile on her face faded, to be replaced with what looked like disgust. Her sister, Mayune, flounced past her over to Takako, oblivious to the condescension that she emanated. Delicate, tall, and thin, the two of them shadowed over Mawata. No matter the hours, the dedication and the practice she put into ballet, she would never surpass them. She would never become the star of a show. She would always be perfect in technique, but forgotten in the background.

The seeds of jealousy had begun to sprout.


End file.
